A Birthday Meal Out and A Lot of Work - W/E 20th January 2024

The week began on Sunday, with an afternoon shift at work. I don't often work on Sundays, but I quite like them. They are busy, but you finish at a normal time, so I enjoy going home and eating with OH, when I work these shifts.  In addition, they start at 2pm, so I have time to walk the dog and eat a proper lunch before heading out.

I did a little shop in the store before starting work. I wanted a muffin tin, so that I can try to make savoury muffins. I saw a recipe for egg breakfast muffins on a YouTuber's video, that looked really tasty and I'd love to try them out. Besides, I need to eat more protein, as I am tending to get hungry and end up overeating at the moment. I think more protein in my diet would help in this regard.

I also bought a few things in the clearance sale, one of which was some tissue paper for next Xmas. I used up all the tissue I had this year and I like to have some in the wrapping bag.  This tissue was £2.50 for 50 large sheets of three different designs.  It should keep me going for a while! 

I also bought some new kitchen towels. I promised myself when I got this job, that I would replace certain things in the house, that needed replacing and these are one thing that was on the list. I've only got a few more weeks on my contract, and I don't know if I'll be kept on, so I thought I'd get started on the list, using my staff discount, whilst I still have it.

Anyway, work was okay. I was working in my favourite section again, so I was happy. It was my last shift before having a couple of days off, so I was glad to get home and be able to chill and look forward to a couple of work free days.

On Monday, as always it was weekly shop day. Once again, I headed out of town. I just like the trip out if I'm honest and prefer the out of town Lidl store, as I find it easier and less stressful to shop in. I didn't need to get a whole lot of stuff this week, as I'd stocked up in previous weeks, but I did have another voucher for £6 off a £60 spend at Tesco, so I was in two minds whether to use it. 

In the end, I decided that I would use it, as I needed a few things from there, that I couldn't get from Lidl, so I did most of my shopping there this week. I had to be a little careful, as it's easy to pay more for things, cancelling out the benefit of the voucher, so I tend to stick to the clubcard deals where I can, so I know I'm getting things at a good price.  I still went to Lidl for some specific things we get regularly and really like from there.

On Monday evening, we had arranged to meet up with LB at the Barbican, in the City of London, to go for  a meal to celebrate her 21st birthday. We all arrived a bit early, so we headed to the Bar and Grill in the main building. The meal was nice and it was good to catch up with how LB's birthday celebrations had gone on the weekend and how she was getting on with her current Uni project.

We decided to go to the cinema at the Barbican after the meal and see the film Priscilla. A film from Priscilla Presley's viewpoint, of her marriage to Elvis Presley. It was good and very reasonable at just £6 per ticket. We hadn't visited the Barbican for probably 10 or 15 years, so it was nice to go back and enjoy spending some family time together there.

There was a free exhibition in the foyer, of the costumes from a current film called Poor Things, starring Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe. I loved taking a look at them. Here's a few photos:

I, personally, loved the big puffed up sleeves on the costumes. So well crafted. It was lovely to have another night out this week, especially a family one this time.

On Tuesday morning, I had to call my credit card company and cancel a card. I'd unfortunately fallen victim to a scam involving a fake website, when trying to purchase something online. I decided the safest thing to do was to cancel my card, in case they'd harvested my card details, to avoid possible further fraudulent purchases on it. Very annoying, but the sum involved wasn't a large one, so I'm happy to put it down to experience. There are so many scammers out there, taking people's hard earned money for nothing.

Anyway, I headed to my regular class at the gym later and then settled down to a bit of sewing when I got back, before getting a call from work asking me to go in. I'd had a call the previous day, but had declined on account of our evening plans, so I agreed to go in on Tuesday evening, to help out for a few hours. This meant that I was working on 6 days this week, which I wasn't thrilled about, but I think a lot of people are on leave, as they need to use up their annual leave before year end and it has left the store short of staff.

I managed to get quite a lot done before heading into work. I changed the bedding, put away some laundry, did some washing, made some supper, had a shower and got ready, so it felt like quite a productive afternoon. I also caught up with journalling, as I've been so busy, I just keep getting behind with it. I thought January would be quiet and steady, but it's turning out to be very busy, with hardly any spare time. I shouldn't complain, as the opportunity to earn more is a good thing really. I am, however, hoping things will calm down a little soon.

On Wednesday, it was my turn to walk the dog, so we headed out for a lovely long walk. My usual Soca class was restarting, but I decided not to go, as I would have to rush the dog walk and then later I was due to work until late, so I didn't want to overdo things. I decided to spend the afternoon sewing instead. Sewing, on this occasion with scraps, was a great way to relax and enjoy myself before heading off for a long shift at work. It was something just for me and gave me the creative outlet I needed, after working a lot lately. 

On Thursday, I had an appointment with the nurse at my GP practice to have my blood pressure taken.  My BP was fine, but she was concerned that my pulse was slow at 55 bpm. I've now got to take measurements for a week to track it and if it remains low they may investigate further. I'm not really worried, as this is a pretty normal reading for me, but I suppose it's good that they are being cautious and conscientious.

After lunch, I went up to the sewing room to do some sewing, before getting ready for work again. Work was busy as the section I worked was quite untidy when I got there and I just had to do my best to get it in order.

Friday morning, I got a bit of a lie in. It felt like the first day in ages where I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything (apart from work in the evening). I enjoyed the day pottering around at home, doing a few weights, working on my current quilt, doing laundry, etc.

Work was super busy again in the section I was working. I was really feeling tired after working a lot this week. I did get home at a reasonable enough time to spend an hour watching the new series of the Traitors with OH though.

Saturday, I took myself off to the gym first thing as my New Age Games (over 50's) sessions started again this week. I really enjoy these gym sessions, as it's really relaxed in the gym we get to use for them. The machines aren't quite as high tech as the main gym area, and you don't have the ability to increase the weights, but I enjoy using them all the same. It's not always about progression and really pushing yourself. It's nice to take it steady and just keep mobile and active.

On my way back from the gym, I walked to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, which added a few more steps to my daily total.

I was at work again in the evening. I was really looking forward to finishing my shifts for the week and having a couple of days off. It feels like it's been all about work this week.